Radio Production Exam
Question 2: Radio Production
Climate Change
e) With the prospect of my climate change package airing on Algoa FM, I took care in ensuring that I was in line with the standards I set myself in my philosophy. My package focused on the benefits and potential for solar power in households and aviation, and why there are very few who use it. As Algoa FM form part of the public service tier, I made sure that the package I produced provided value to the audience by informing them of what I deemed to be an important issue, especially in the Eastern Cape for the present and future, whilst at the same time keeping it interesting and leaving it open for public debate. Algoa FM reaches a culturally diverse audience across the Eastern Cape. “Media are a central arena and certainly play a part in shaping public and political options” Carvalho (2007:223). The issue of climate change is not typically familiar with the public as it is still a relatively new concept, so I had to be sure that what I was saying was accurate and professional. If I were to include anything factually wrong, I would be misinforming the public, and it would be the scientists who suffer the consequences by having to justify actions they are not responsible for. According to Carvalho (2007:225), “In controversial issues, their gate keeping role is more important as they decide which primary validators will be given voice, and how much of a voice”. I used a variety of voices, each with different occupations within the field of aviation or climate change, to improve the accountability of my piece. I also ensured that what was said was done with the intentions of providing some benefit to the audience. I failed to include the voices of ordinary citizens in my piece, thus not entirely keeping in line with my philosophy. I felt that this package was more effectual with the voices of experts, as I felt it necessary to inform the public of the potential for solar power, rather than having ordinary citizens’ views on the matter.
f) I hope that by the time this package has been broadcasted, it has opened the public’s eyes to the potential for solar power as an alternative energy source that will in turn reduce the effects of global warming. I believe that by listening to the package this can be achieved through being informed of the projects that are being put in place, and the shocking consequences of not using solar power. According to Carvalho (2007:223), public perceptions and attitudes with regards to those domains are significantly influenced by scientific representations of scientific knowledge conveyed by the press. With this in mind, inviting one of the interviewees in my package, (preferably Bool Smuts who is working on solar power projects for houses in Port Elizabeth), on air for a live discussion/interview would be a good opportunity for a follow up, as he will be able to extend on what was said in the package, by giving more information on the housing projects, how successful they are and a more comprehensive overview of the benefits of solar power. By doing this it allows a scientist such as himself to be held fully accountable for what is said, as it is free of interference from potential gate keeping and misinterpretations. Another potential follow up could be an ordinary citizen’s perspective, which then fulfills my journalistic approach. A citizen who is a resident in one of the households of the project that Bool Smuts is running could provide an effective critique as to the extent of the success of the project. This could prompt debate amongst the public as to how important solar power is as an alternative energy source, so a live phone in session to follow this would be appropriate, hence allowing the public to be actively involved in the journalistic process.
Development
a) My development package focused on the SPCA, and the lack of funding and staff it has that prevents it from fulfilling the tasks it needs to, i.e. rescue animals and find homes for them. I believe that I was successful in applying my journalistic approach to the way I conceptualized stories to a certain extent, as I allowed the voices of ordinary citizens to be a part of the journalistic process. Linda, the manager of SPCA and Maloli, a worker there, provided a voice on behalf of the community to express their concerns about the lack of help from the government to provide the necessary resources to take care of the animals. Also, I played the role as a social commentator, by identifying the problems in the community, and I was a facilitator, by informing the public of the problems associated with the SPCA, and by giving a voice to those who are not usually well represented. However, I didn’t fulfill my role as a social commentator, as I didn’t help to find the answers to the problems that the SPCA face, I merely reported on them. Also, I was unsuccessful in bridging the vertical gap between civil society and the government, as I didn’t provide a channel by which the citizens can directly confront the government with the issues. I was successful in bridging the horizontal gap between societies, as I promoted the help that Rhodes University students have achieved in attempting to better the situation in the SPCA. I have therefore been successful in certain areas of my intended approach, but not to the fullest extent.
f) This story aims to alert the public to the lack of help from the government in providing funds to the SPCA, which in turn aims to put pressure on the government to do something about it. After all, the government is there to serve the interests of the public, and if a substantial audience is in favour of supporting the SPCA, the government will inevitably have to provide support to the SPCA themselves. An interesting follow up to the story would therefore be a response from a political actor associated with the Makana Municipality. It would be interesting to hear what their view is on the package, the extent to which they believe it to be true, and what they intend to do about it. Or, in following my journalistic approach of creating a medium for which citizens and the state can interact, I could allow citizens to be involved in political decision making, by setting up a discussion/debate between one or two political actors and a couple of citizens, either from the SPCA like Linda and Maloli, or from Grahamstown who feel directly affected by the problems faced in the SPCA. This would allow the citizens to express their problems and get immediate direct answers from the state. Areas of discussion could be the problem with funds, the lack of staff, and the need for another SPCA in the township. This level of communication has the potential to strengthen the relationship between the citizens and the state, and as a result encourage a greater participation in citizen voting and involvement with and knowledge of governmental initiatives and policies.
List of Sources
Carvalho, A. 2007. Ideological Cultures and media discourses on Scientific Knowledge. Public Understanding of Science, 16: 223-243.
